C6 Corvette General Discussion General C6 Corvette Discussion not covered in Tech
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by: Feral Industries

Brake life?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jul 16, 2012 | 08:39 PM
  #1  
JScottH3's Avatar
JScottH3
Thread Starter
Racer
Supporting Member
10 Year Member
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 475
Likes: 158
Default Brake life?

I searched the forum, but didn't find any answers about this. What's a rough estimate of OEM brake life on a daily driver? I've got just over 34K on my '08, mostly around town (D. C. area). Thanks.
Reply
Old Jul 16, 2012 | 08:51 PM
  #2  
C6ToGo's Avatar
C6ToGo
Safety Car
15 Year Member
Top Answer: 1
Top Answer: 3
Top Answer: 5
 
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,592
Likes: 1,672
From: Pearland / Houston Tx
Default

i drive (and brake) pretty hard and just replaced my fronts at 54,700. Just hit the squeal indicator. Rears still had more life.

Never had a brake squeak in my life so was not anxious to repalce too early with ones that did. Didn't want ceramics and the Wagner ThermoQUIETS I installed are just that (so far).
Reply
Old Jul 16, 2012 | 08:51 PM
  #3  
talon90's Avatar
talon90
Team Owner
Supporting Lifetime
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 35,617
Likes: 167
Tech Contributor
Cruise-In 11 Veteran
NCM Ambassador
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'10
Default

So many variables.
Reply
Old Jul 16, 2012 | 09:03 PM
  #4  
9157's Avatar
9157
Naples FL
Supporting Lifetime Gold
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,383
Likes: 175
From: FL
Default

My '08 A6 had 80k on rear & 105k on front when I upgraded to oversized rotors (z51) with gm ceramic pads.... The fronts still had plenty of life left! All on a car with 419 RWHP!
Reply
Old Jul 16, 2012 | 09:12 PM
  #5  
BackInBlack05's Avatar
BackInBlack05
Pro
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 625
Likes: 57
From: San Jose CA
Default

So much depends on driving venue, driving habits, stick vs. auto, etc.

FWIW, when I bought my 6 sped C6 at 44K, it was less than 1/2 way through the pads.
Reply
Old Jul 16, 2012 | 09:16 PM
  #6  
Thrill6's Avatar
Thrill6
Burning Brakes
 
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,171
Likes: 4
From: Columbia Maryland
Default

With street driving, your brakes should last 60 to 100K miles, maybe more. The vette has big brakes on a light weight vehicle. A friend bought my 99 Coupe which now has over 75K miles and still on the original pads and rotors. My C6 vert has almost 50k on GM ceramic pads that were replaced when the car was only a few months old. I had the rotors turned a few months ago because of some runout and I put the old ceramic pads back on because they still looked almost new.
Reply
Old Jul 16, 2012 | 10:12 PM
  #7  
sportcruiser's Avatar
sportcruiser
Pro
 
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 559
Likes: 1
From: Lake Worth Florida
Default

Originally Posted by C6ToGo
i drive (and brake) pretty hard and just replaced my fronts at 54,700. Just hit the squeal indicator. Rears still had more life.

Never had a brake squeak in my life so was not anxious to repalce too early with ones that did. Didn't want ceramics and the Wagner ThermoQUIETS I installed are just that (so far).
Why not ceramics? Just curious.
Reply
Old Jul 16, 2012 | 10:23 PM
  #8  
laconiajack's Avatar
laconiajack
Safety Car
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,681
Likes: 2
From: Mooresville (Race City USA) NC
Default

Originally Posted by sportcruiser
Why not ceramics? Just curious.
Me too. Replaced the factory brake pads with ceramics because I disliked the gross brake dust build-up on my wheels. I would assume less dust build-up on the wheels was due to less pad wear with the ceramic pads, no? As a bonus the brake squeal I had with the OEM pads disappeared with the ceramic pads.
Reply
Corvette Stories

The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts

story-0

5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!

 Joe Kucinski
story-1

Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained

 Joe Kucinski
story-2

Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love

 Joe Kucinski
story-4

Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer

 Brett Foote
story-5

10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)

 Michael S. Palmer
story-6

8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-7

10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years

 Joe Kucinski
story-8

How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972

 Joe Kucinski
story-9

Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

 Michael S. Palmer
Old Jul 17, 2012 | 01:10 PM
  #9  
JScottH3's Avatar
JScottH3
Thread Starter
Racer
Supporting Member
10 Year Member
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 475
Likes: 158
Default

Thanks for all the quick replies.
Reply
Old Jul 17, 2012 | 01:40 PM
  #10  
Licit's Avatar
Licit
Melting Slicks
 
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,045
Likes: 3
From: Indy IN
Default

Originally Posted by Thrill6
With street driving, your brakes should last 60 to 100K miles, maybe more. The vette has big brakes on a light weight vehicle. A friend bought my 99 Coupe which now has over 75K miles and still on the original pads and rotors. My C6 vert has almost 50k on GM ceramic pads that were replaced when the car was only a few months old. I had the rotors turned a few months ago because of some runout and I put the old ceramic pads back on because they still looked almost new.
That's the first time I've heard of someone doing that in a while. There was a big argument on another car forum because a guy used his pads again after turning the rotors. Plenty were quick to say how wrong he was to do it. I always assumed it was auto shops/dealers and brake pad manufacturers that made the claim so that people would buy new pads prematurely.

On a related note it sounds like people may be on their 4th set of tires by the time they replace their first set of pads.
Reply
Old Jul 17, 2012 | 03:38 PM
  #11  
Gman in NC's Avatar
Gman in NC
Melting Slicks
20 Year Member
Conversation Starter
All Eyes On Me
 
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,340
Likes: 176
From: Kernersville NC
Default

This is a good post. My daughter's BMW has worn out the rear brakes before the fronts which I thought was strange. She said she did a little research on the 'net' and it is caused by the traction/stability control we all use these days. Her back's are gone at 70,000 miles (which is ok anyway) and the fronts are looking good. Just something to ponder on.
Reply
Old Jul 17, 2012 | 03:59 PM
  #12  
snide's Avatar
snide
Team Owner
25 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 91,519
Likes: 173
From: o|||||||o
CI 4-5-7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07 thru '11
Default

With 54k miles on my '09 Z06, the brakes are still in great condition.
Reply

Get notified of new replies

To Brake life?





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:37 PM.

story-0
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!

Slideshow: The 5 best and 5 most overrated Corvette track packages ever.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-06-09 12:46:45


VIEW MORE
story-1
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained

Slideshow: Every 2027 Corvette engine explained

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-06-09 12:16:31


VIEW MORE
story-2
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette

Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-06-08 19:53:43


VIEW MORE
story-3
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love

Slideshow: 10 ugly Corvettes that we still kinda love.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-06-03 10:34:17


VIEW MORE
story-4
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer

A lot of money has changed hands at the online auction house over the years.

By Brett Foote | 2026-06-03 10:21:50


VIEW MORE
story-5
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)

Slideshow: 10 great gifts Corvette enthusiasts actually want for Father's Day!

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-06-03 15:43:40


VIEW MORE
story-6
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems

Slideshow: These are the quirks, annoyances, and oddly lovable problems that every Corvette owner eventually learns to live with.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-05-28 09:31:39


VIEW MORE
story-7
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years

Slideshow: 10 reasons why the C6 Z06 is still a performance benchmark after 20 years.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-27 17:20:09


VIEW MORE
story-8
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972

Slideshow: How much horsepower every Corvette engine lost in 1972.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-27 16:54:53


VIEW MORE
story-9
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

Slideshow: How to Protect A Convertible Top: 10 DOs & DON'Ts

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-03 00:00:00


VIEW MORE